If I were to redo this project, I would have rounded each of my 5 blanks individually. Cutting the stock to length after I had rounded it meant that each cut wasn't entirely square. As a result, my blanks didn't sit square on the scrap wood I glued them to and I had to true them. Basically, I could have conserved more material and made these jars a bit wider.

Nice work. I have turned a few of these myself and use a friction fit. You can make it tight enough that it is pretty close to air tight. Here is the book I used to learn how to do this. He also has a video but the book was a great resource for me. I hope it helps. These are a lot of fun to make. http://www.amazon.com/TURNING-BOXES-Richard-Raffan-Revised/dp/B000UQLL6Q/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1387643081&sr=8-4&keywords=wood+boxes+richard+raffan

Beautiful work! You might achieve an airtight fit using deer hide if you cut a small slit leading perpendicular to the edge of the jar, along the notch. The ends of the deer hide could be inserted in the slit. A small hole drilled at the end of the slit would provide a hole for a peg to friction anchor the deer hide. An example of this process (using sandpaper instead of leather) can be seen at the following instructable: http://www.instructables.com/id/Drum-Sander-for-Pillar-Drill-Drill-Press/ start the video around 3:14

My husband actually makes these, so I know all the work that went into these. I'm not sure who the recipient will be of these spice jars, but I'm here to say that I absolutely love mine, they are a special treasure that beats anything purchased from a store.